BHS girls b-ball edged by Victor Valley 48-47

VICTORVILLE — The Burroughs girls basketball team played another close game against Victor Valley — and this time the Jackrabbits came out on top. The Div. 3A, No. 9-ranked Burros lost to the Div. 2A, No. 10-ranked Jackrabbits 48-47 on Tuesday night, a result that denied Burroughs the chance to clinch an outright DSL championship.

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By Anthony GentileSPORTS EDITORagentile@ridgecrestca.com

Ridgecrest Daily Independent - Ridgecrest, CA

By Anthony GentileSPORTS EDITORagentile@ridgecrestca.com

Posted Feb. 12, 2014 at 3:38 PM

By Anthony GentileSPORTS EDITORagentile@ridgecrestca.com

Posted Feb. 12, 2014 at 3:38 PM

VICTORVILLE — The Burroughs girls basketball team played another close game against Victor Valley — and this time the Jackrabbits came out on top. The Div. 3A, No. 9-ranked Burros lost to the Div. 2A, No. 10-ranked Jackrabbits 48-47 on Tuesday night, a result that denied Burroughs the chance to clinch an outright DSL championship.

"Every game we've played against them has been close," Burros head coach Robert Campbell said. "The kids didn't give up — we were down and we were struggling in the first half."

Burroughs (18-3, 12-2 DSL) struggled with its shooting in the first half, and trailed as a result. The Burros were behind 16-6 after the first quarter, and trailed Victor Valley (16-3, 12-2) by nine points at halftime.

"We got off to a rough start — we weren't shooting the ball well," Campbell said. "We had plenty of shots in the first half that just didn't go."

The Burros' shooting improved in the third quarter, but they couldn't cut into Victor Valley's lead. The Jackrabbits had a 39-32 advantage headed into the fourth quarter when Burroughs began a methodical rally that gave them a shot a victory.

"We kept crawling back," Campbell said. "We made a valiant comeback — the kids really played hard in the second half."

After forcing a shot clock violation, Burroughs had the ball with 12 seconds left trailing by one. The Burros called a play but couldn't set it up properly, and with time winding down guard Madison Schiller drove to the hoop — she lost the ball and Victor Valley ran out the final seconds for a one-point win.

"We weren't in our set where we wanted to be — I should have called a timeout and I made a mistake there," Campbell said. "We didn't get a shot off and the game was over."

Guards Alex Simmons and Aubrey Hayes each finished in double figures for Burroughs — and both players keyed the Burros' second-half comeback. Simmons scored 12 of her 16 points after halftime, and Hayes scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half.

Simmons and Schiller each finished with a team-high five steals in the loss. The Burros shot 32 percent from the field (16-for-50) and turned the ball over 25 times in defeat.

"You don't win games in other people's gyms turning the ball over 25 times," Campbell said. "That's been a problem for us the past couple of games."

The first two meetings between Burroughs and Victor Valley were close — and the teams' third clash was even closer. Campbell said Tuesday night's game was much more physical than the first two.

"It was a very physical game," Campbell said. "Our girls battled with them — we hung right with them and didn't let them push us around."

Page 2 of 2 - Burroughs and Victor Valley are now tied atop the DSL standings with one game remaining. The Burros host Adelanto on Thursday and the Jackrabbits play at Silverado — if both teams win they will share the DSL championship.

"I told the girls to let this one go and keep working," Campbell said. "We're just going to keep working hard."

Burroughs will look to end its first losing streak of the season Thursday against Adelanto on Senior Night at the Burroughs Barn. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.